Secure Zone Safety - Online Safety

Online Safety

If your child likes to use the Internet to send emails to friends, chat online with friends, play games or do research for homework, make sure he knows about online safety before he turns the computer on.

Online Safety Rules

Today, kids don't have to be in the presence of an adult to access the Internet. They can access it at the library, at a friend's house, through game consoles and even through cell phones. Since you can't be with your child every minute to monitor his online activity, it's imperative that he understands what online safety is all about.

First, explain the risks. Kids can be exposed to inappropriate material without even looking for it. Besides the obvious inappropriate material, they could also come across sites that dangerous or even illegal activity. What's worse is the Internet predators that stalk chat rooms for victims. To ensure this doesn't happen to your child, you must explain that while the Internet is a great tool for us all to have, many people misuse it to cause others harm. Explain that there are online safety rules you want them to follow so they aren't victims of an Internet predator. To keep your children safe, make sure:

They do not giving out personal information like their name, age, address or phone number
They do not posting any pictures of themselves, their friends or family
They do not have a computer in their bedroom
They are not online at night (most online predators have normal, 9-5 jobs and like to be online at night)

Additional online safety measures you can take as a parent are using the parental controls offered by Internet Service Providers, monitoring your child's online activity and posting a list of online safety rules near the computer. It's also helpful to keep one computer the kids are allowed to use in an open area of the house, not a den or bedroom. If adults in the house need a computer for work or other reasons, that computer should be off-limits to the kids.

Hopefully these online safety tips will help you keep your kids safe online.